What would you have done?
- Thread starter ajewelinhiscrown
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@ajewelinhiscrown You did what you had to in order to keep her safe. Do not feel bad or second guess yourself. When you are ready just talk to her and explain that she was dangerous. Maybe one day you can take her out and go over safety tips when crossing roads.
ajewelinhiscrown
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@ericbunic Thank you. That’s an excellent idea.
@ajewelinhiscrown YouTube has a lot of videos on road safety, you could watch them with her and ask her questions on her thoughts.
ajewelinhiscrown
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@ericbunic Oh that’s a great idea. I’m going to do that!
@ajewelinhiscrown That is exactly as I would have done. Most situations I try to allow the kids to face the natural consequences, but the natural consequence here is for them to get run over by a car.
Mine have gone through this phase too. Our solution was that they must hold my hand from the moment we get out of the car to the moment we are at our destination. It also means they can’t get out of the car till I get the others loaded into the stroller or carrier.
If they won’t behave responsibly they don’t get freedom. Mine really liked to look at the flowers as we walked or hop across the pavement at their own speed- so being trapped next to me was really upsetting. We continued to reiterate that if I cannot trust them to behave safely they cannot walk without me. Took only a week for them to realize that street safety was not something I would mess around with.
Also- I have no problem apologizing to my children when I react poorly. I’ve said before “I am sorry I got angry at you early. I felt very scared when you ran into the street because I care a lot about you and I never want you to get hurt. But I should not have yelled at you- yelling is not the right thing to do when we feel big feelings. I am sorry for yelling”
Some parents don’t believe in apologizing for these things but how can we expect our children to apologize for their mistakes if we don’t show them?
Mine have gone through this phase too. Our solution was that they must hold my hand from the moment we get out of the car to the moment we are at our destination. It also means they can’t get out of the car till I get the others loaded into the stroller or carrier.
If they won’t behave responsibly they don’t get freedom. Mine really liked to look at the flowers as we walked or hop across the pavement at their own speed- so being trapped next to me was really upsetting. We continued to reiterate that if I cannot trust them to behave safely they cannot walk without me. Took only a week for them to realize that street safety was not something I would mess around with.
Also- I have no problem apologizing to my children when I react poorly. I’ve said before “I am sorry I got angry at you early. I felt very scared when you ran into the street because I care a lot about you and I never want you to get hurt. But I should not have yelled at you- yelling is not the right thing to do when we feel big feelings. I am sorry for yelling”
Some parents don’t believe in apologizing for these things but how can we expect our children to apologize for their mistakes if we don’t show them?
ajewelinhiscrown
New member
@jewels777 Thank you for this. Shortly after this happened, once I got my 5 y/o in her car seat and we had both calmed down, I did apologize to her and what I said was almost word for word what you wrote. I couldn’t agree with you more!
tigggertat
New member
@ajewelinhiscrown The exact same thing. Keeping our kids safe is our number one priority as parents, and if they aren’t listening, we have to physically prevent them from getting hurt. I’m sure the drivers were also thankful you were able to restrain her and get her to safety. Once you’re a parent, you know sometimes they just can’t listen. You did the right thing, dad.
ajewelinhiscrown
New member
@tigggertat Thank you. You’re absolutely right, sometimes they just cannot listen. And even in these times that can be truly maddening we have to of course continue to act in their best interest.